Automobile door hinge



Dec. 8, 1959 R. M CLURE AUTOMOBILE DOOR HINGE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 19, 1956 Y INVENTOR. @0561; me

A FTORNEY Dec. 8, 1959 R. McCLURE AUTOMOBILE DOOR HINGE Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 19, 1956 Jill- I.

7 INVENTOR. 5 0MB fiZ'aEn e ATTORNEY III) I H! I Dec. 8, 1959 R. MCCLURE 2,915,780 7 AUTOMOBILE DOOR HINGE Filed Dec. 19, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VENTOR.

9 v I K1 5 Wfizte A1 FORNEV United States Patent AUTOMOBILE DOOR HINGE Robert McClure, Detroit, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application December 19, 1956, Serial No. 629,375

4 Claims. (Cl. 16-153) This invention relates to automobile door hinges and more particularly to hinge and cam arrangements for automobile doors.

The hinge and cam arrangements of this invention are improvements of those shown in applications S.N. 404,871, Stirnetz et al., filed January 19, 1954, now Patent No. 2,775,478, dated December 25, 1956, and S.N. 443,825, Tresidder et al., filed July 16, 1954, and now abandoned, both assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

The door hinges of this invention are of the type having relatively rotatable parts which are arranged so as to be bodily movable with respect to each other during opening and closing movement of the door so that the door may be lowered and raised with respect to the body as it moves between open and closed positions. In general, each of these hinge structures includes a first hinge part mounted on the door and having a cam surface and a second hinge part supported on a body and having a cam which co-acts with the cam surface on the first part as the door is moved between open and closed positions to raise and lower the door. In each of the hinge structures shown and described in the above mentioned applications, no manner of adjusting the hinge parts with respect to each other is provided and this results in certain disadvantages, particularly in the mass production of automobiles embodying hinges of this type. This invention is particularly directed to hinges of this type and provides a means of adjusting the hinge parts with respect to each other so that the individual hinge may be fitted to the particular body conditions of the automobile.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a new improved automobile door hinge. Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved automobile door hinge and cam having relatively rotatable parts which are bodily movable with respect to each other as the door moves between open and closed positions to raise and lower the door with respect to the body. A further feature of this invention is to provide a new and improved automobile door hinge and cam having relatively rotatable parts which are bodily movable with respect to each other during opening and closing movements of the door and which are adjustable with respect to each other to adjust the point in movement of the door at which the door is raised and lowered with respect to the body.

These and other objects of this invention will be readily apparent from the following specification and drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a partial side elevational view of an automobile body having a door mounted on the body by an automobile door hinge and cam according to one embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the plane indicated by line 2--2 of Figure 1 with the door being shown in closed position in full lines and in open position in broken lines.

Patented Dec. 8, 1959 Figure 3 is a view taken on a plane indicated by line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 and showing the door and door hinge in open position.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the plane indicated by line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 and showing another embodiment of this invention, with the door being shown in full lines in closed position and in broken lines in open position.

Figure 7 is a view taken on the plane indicated by line 77 of Figure 6 and showing the door and door hinge in closed position.

Figure 8 is a very similar to Figure 7 and showing the door and door hinge in open position.

Figure 9 is a sectional plane taken on a plane indicated by line 9-9 of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is an exploded view of the portion of the hinge and showing the bearing surfaces of the hinge members in perspective, and

Figure 11 is a view taken on a plane indicated by line 11-11 of Figure 1.

Referring now particularly to Figures 1 and 11 of the drawings, an automobile body 20 includes front and rear door openings 22 and 24, respectively. The front door 26 fits within opening 22, being hinged at its forward edge to the body and being latched at its rearward edge in a conventional manner to a pillar 28 which extends from the floor pan of the body to the roof rail 29. A rear door 30 fits within opening 24 and is hinged at its forward edge on pillar 28 and latched at its rearward edge in a conventional manner to the body. The roof 32 of the body includes a downwardly sloping side portion which terminates in a rain gutter 34 at its lower edge 36 over the rear door opening 24. This roof contour is desirable since it provides a low silhouette for the automobile while still maintaining a relatively large door opening. Further the overhanging edge of the roof shields the space between the upper edge of the door and the roof rai-l as can be seen in Figure 11. Further, as shown in Figure 11, the rear door does not lie in a vertical plane but slopes inwardly so that the free edge of the door will rise as the door is opened. This construction is conventional in present automobile bodies.

As can be seen in Figure 1, the pillar 28 includes an upper portion 38 in the area between the belt line 40 of the body and the roof rail 29 which is offset forwardly of the lower portion 44 of the pillar in the area between the belt line and the floor pan of the body. Since the side edge portion of the roof 32 slopes downwardly, the door may not be hinged in a conventional manner since the upper front corner 46 of the door would strike the lower edge 36 of the roof when the door is opened. This condition is illustrated diagrammatically in broken lines in Figure 11 wherein the door is shown in broken lines at the level it would assume when opened if it were hinged in the conventional manner. In order to prevent this condition, according to this invention, improved upper and lower door hinges 48 are provided for mounting the door on the body so that the door will be lowered as it moves from closed to open position and will be raised as it moves from open to closed position to provide the necessary clearance between the door and the lower edge 36 of the roof while positioning the door immediately adjacent the lower edge of the roof when the door is in closed position. Since each of the hinges 48 is of the same construction only the lower door hinge will be particularly described and it will be understood that the upper hinge is of the same construction.

Referring now particularly to Figures 2 through 5, the lower door hinge 48 according to one embodiment of this invention will be described. A goose-neck hinge arm 52 having one end thereof secured to pillar 28 by bolts 54- extends rearwardly and outwardly and terminates in a C-shaped free end 55 as can be seen particularly in Figures 3 and 4. The free end 55 of the hinge arm includes an upper pintle arm 5-6 and a lower pintle arm 5'3 which are separated by a recess 69 having a laterally extending portion 62. A hinge strap 64 secured to the jamb face of door 313 by bolts es includes a pintle arm or hinge barrel 6?; which fits within recess e0. Pintle arms 56, 5d and 68 are provided with aligned bores and a pintle 7%) extends through these bores in order to mount the door on the body for swinging movement about a fixed axis defined by the pintle. The pintle arm 68 is shorter than the ength of recess 60 in the hin e arm 52 so that the pintle arm 68 may move upwardly and downwardly within the recess about the axis defined by pintle 79.

As can be seen particularly in Figure 2, an arcuate arm 72 is welded or otherwise secured to door 39 and to hinge strap 6 and extends through the laterally extending portion 62 of recess 6-9 in hinge arm 52. Arm 72 defines a true are having its center at the axis of swinging movement of the door which is defined by the pintle 79. The lower edge of the arm defines a cam track having a low portion 7 adjacent the attachment of the arm to the door and intermedi te upwardly sloping portion 76 and a high portion '73 adjacent the attachment of the arm to hinge strap 64.

A housin 89 opening to recess 60 and recess portion 62 is formed integral with the gooseneck hinge arm 5'2 by flaring out the portion of the arm defining the lower wall of recess portion 62. The inner end wall 81 of the housing is of arcuate shape and defines an are having its center at the axis of swinging movement of the door defined by pintle 7% A cage 32 fits within housing 86 and has a width less than the Width of the housing as can be seen in Figure 5 so that the cage may be moved laterally within the housing. The inner end wall 33 of the cage is complementary to the inner end wall 81 of the housing so that movement of the cage within the housing will move the cage about an arc having its center defined by the axis of swinging movement of the door. The cage includes a generally square-shaped opening 84 which receives a ball bearing 85 having a diameter slightly smaller than the width of the opening but greater than the depth of the opening so that the ball hearing will project outwardly of the cage and housing 8!) but will be freely rotatable with respect to the cage. A set screw 36 threaded within each of the opposite side walls 87 of housing 8d is adapted to engage an opposite side of the cage to hold the cage in any adjusted position laterally within the housing.

The ball bearing 35 is in continuous engagement with the cam track defined by the lower edge of arm 72 in all positions of the door. When the door is in closed position, as shown in Figure 3 and in full lines in Figure 2, the ball bearing 85 engages the low portion 74 of the cam track to position the pintle arm 63 of hinge strap 64- upwardly Within recess 6% adjacent pintle arm 56 and position the upper front corner as of the door immediately adjacent the lower edge 36 of the roof, as shown in full lines in Figure ll. As the door moves to open position the ball bearing 85 initially rides along the low portion 7d and then up the sloping portion 75 until it engages the high portion 78 to lower the pintle arm 6 of the hinge strap within recess 6} and thereby lower the door as the door moves toward open position so that the upper front corner 46 of the door will clear the lower edge 36 of the roof. Thereafter, the ball hearing 85 rides alon the high portion 78 of the cam track as the door moves to its fully open position. In the open position of the door, as shown in Figure 4, it will be noted that the pintle arm 68 has moved from a position immediately adjacent the upper pintle arm 5-6 of hinge arm 52 to a position in bearing engagement with the lower pintle arm 58. The engagement between pintle arms 68 and 53 occurs when the ball bearing initially engages the high portion 73 of the cam track so that these two pintle arms act in bearin engagement with each other during the major portion of opening movement of the door. The door is lowered upon initial opening movement since otherwise the upper front corner 46 or" the door will engage the lower edge portion of the roof so as to prevent further opening movement of the door as previously mentioned.

When the door is closed, the reverse procedure takes place. The ball bearing initially rides along the high portion 3 of the cam track and then down the sloping portion 76 to the low portion 74 to raise the pintle arm 63 within recess 6' 3 to a position immediately adjacent the upper pintie arm 56 of hinge strap 52 and thereby raise the door ust prior to the time the door reaches fully closed position to position the upper front conrer 46 of the door immediately adjacent the lower edge 36 of the roof.

in the mass production of automobiles it is somewhat difficult to manufacture one hinge that will fit all doors and bodies, since the tolerance limits are such as to prevent one hinge from fitting all doors and bodies. Therefore it is desirable to provide a manner or" adjusting each hinge to the individual body and door condition. The set screws 36 allow the cage 82 to be adjusted circumferentially with respect to pintle 7th through a limited arc while maintaining the same radial spacing between the pintle and ball bearing 85. Thus the point at which the door will be lowered with respect to the body as the door moves to open position and the point at which the door will be raised with respect to the body as the door moves to closed position may be set to the individual door and body condition. For example, if the cage 82 is moved inwardly of the body or counterclock- Wise as viewed in Figure 2, the point at which the door will be lowered when the door moves to open position will be delayed since the ball bearing $55 will ride over more of the low portion 74 of the cam track. Similarly, if the cage 82 is moved outwardly of the body or clockwise as viewed in Figure 2, the point at which the door will be lowered as it moves to open position will be advanced. Similarly, in the one instance the point at which the door is raised when it moves to closed position will be advanced and the point at which the door is raised in the other position will be delayed.

By thus providing a manner of adjustment of the ball bearing 85, the hinge may be used in mass production and still yet perform its function of raising and lowerin the door at the particular desired point in the movement of the door between open and closed position.

Referring now particularly to Figures 6 through 10 of the drawings, another embodiment of a lower hinge 48 according to this invention will be described. A gooseneck hinge arm 9% has one end thereof secured to the pillar 23 by bolts 91. The hinge arm extends rearwardly and outwardly of the body and terminates in a C-shaped free end 93 having upper and lower pintle arms 92 and M, respectively, which define a recess. 96. A hinge strap 98 is bolted at 1% to a jamb face of the rear door 39 and includes a pintle arm or hinge barrel 1 02 which fits within recess 96 but is smaller than the recess. The pintle 10d extends through ali ned apertures in pintle arms 92, 14912 and 94 to provide a fixed axis of swinging of the door between open and closed positions. A set screw 1% may be used if desired to retain the pintle within the bores of the respective pintle arms.

As can be seen particularly in Figure 10, the lower edge of the pintle arm EH32 includes a pair of oppositely located bearing portions 1% separated by recesses 110. Each recess has a sloping cam surface 112 and a substantially vertical cam surface 114 with these surfaces being arranged in oppositely located pairs. A cam member 115 is provided with oppositely located first hinge member and said second hinge member about a common pivot axis, a curved member rigidly attached to said second hinge member and having a lower cam surface and a higher cam surface, said curved member disposed concentrically about said common pivot axis, a

groove in said first hinge member, a cam follower including a rotatable ball and cage positioned within said groove and movable about an arc defined by a circle having said common pivot axis as its center, said cam follower adapted to cooperate with said lower cam surface and said higher cam surface to raise said door and lower said door, respectively, and screw means carried by said first member for engaging and adjustably positioning said cam follower Within said groove to permit said door to lower at a predetermined fixed point when said door moves from a closed to an opened position to clear said slopin side edge of said roof.

4. In an automobile body having a roof with a sloping side edge, a door and hinge means for mounting said door on said body for swinging movement thereof between open and closed positions, the combination comprising a first hinge member attached to said automobile body and having a recess at the free end thereof to'define upper and lower legs, a second hinge member attached at one end to said door and having an extension at the other end for insertion within said recess be tween said upper and lower legs, means joining said first hinge member and said second hinge member about, a common pivot axis, said second hinge member having rigidly attached thereto a camming surface, said camming surface having a lower camming portion and an upper camming portion, a cam follower having raised sportions at one end and carried by said first hinge member for cooperationv with said upper and lower camming portions for raising said door when said raised portion is in engagement with said lower portion of said camming surface and lowering said door when in engagement with said upper camming surface, said cam follower having a sleeve portion at the other end thereof mounted in said lower leg of said first hinge member for rotatable movement about an arc defined by a circle having said common pivot axis as its center, and screw means carried by said lower leg of said first hinge member and adapted to engage said sleeve portion of said cam follower to adjustably position the latter to permit said door to lower at a predetermined fixed point when said door moves from a closed to an opened position, so as to clear said sloping side edge of said roof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

